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It has been a while since I have sat down to write. I have been out of the habit of writing because honestly, I have been out of the habit of reflecting. I have used the busyness of life as my excuse. When really, I have been ignoring and avoiding. 

{Levi - 7 Months}

Levi Daniel, you are seven months old!

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity and growth for you! While on vacation you cut your first tooth. You surprised mama by giving a good chomp on her finger when we were flying home. You have  become incredibly mobile by rolling all over the place. You can turn your body in 360 degree circles to find what you want. At home, on the hardwoods you push yourself up and back to scoot backwards. You often are not sure how you get yourself into certain predicaments, like getting stuck under a chair. You are practicing sitting up, and do well with a pillow behind you because you also will just lean straight back when you are done sitting. You do enjoy sitting up if you have someone sitting and playing with you. You are babbling more and more each day and say "da da da da" quite a bit. And your hair is starting to grow in! You are a special little guy!

While we were on vacation you had your first bites of solid foods. We thought it would be a fun experience for PopPop and Grandma to be a part of. You tried sweet potato and you were not impressed! Since that first experience you have also had bananas, applesauce, carrots and parsnips. So far, you have tolerated carrots the most.

Sleep wise, you rarely sleep through the night. Most nights you wake once, so it is not the worst. You have officially dropped your last nap of the day, which is great, because you were fighting it hard. Typically you nap at around 10am and 2pm and then you are ready for bed at 7pm. While you do not sleep through the night, you are very good and going down to sleep which is a blessing.

Levi, you had a very busy and eventful first month. You experienced your first two plane rides and visited with PopPop and Grandma in Florida. You did great on the plane rides and adjusted very quickly to Florida time. You definitely enjoyed all the special time with Papa around. You experienced Disney World for the first time. You only did one ride - It's a Small World After All, but you enjoyed looking around. You did meet Mickey with your brother. You were very interested in his nose, until Mickey accidentally bonked you with it and then you started crying.

Once home, we started getting into the Christmas spirit. You even met Santa, who did not make you cry!

During your 8th month of life, we think you are looking forward to play dates with friends, celebrating your first Christmas, and your first New Years trip with the Kaetzels'!

Here are a few photos and videos of your 7th month of life:

 Meeting your PopPop and Grandma

 Trying Sweet Potato

Exploring Disney World

 Saying goodbye to Grandma

 Borrowing your brother's seat on the plane

 Dressed up for Christmas Photos

 First tooth!

{Levi - 6 Months}

Levi Daniel, you are six months old!

You are growing in leaps and bounds! At your 6 month appointment you weighed 19lbs, 4.5oz (79th percentile) and you were 26.75 inches long (52nd percentile). You have grown so much, that you are now wearing 12 month clothes. 

Levi, you roll around the floor if you want to get to a toy and you have enjoyed sitting up more in a bouncer seat or your high chair. You also like sitting if it is in someone's lap. You're definitely not sitting on your own yet. You've also started drooling more lately and we are wondering if you have started working on your first tooth. You remain a happy guy, but definitely have started to fuss a bit more, which makes us wonder about teeth.

You seem to be slowly making some progress with your night time sleep! Just two days before turning six months you finally slept through the night for the first time. You have started to do some longer night time stretches (7-9) hours, but you do not do it consistently.  On a good night, you are still only waking up one time and going right back to sleep. A tough night for mama means that you've been up twice in an evening. Mama and Papa do appreciate your ability to put yourself back to sleep, so even if you fully wake up at night, you babble a bit in your crib and then put yourself back to sleep. You are still doing 3 naps a day, but that last one is usually a short one just to tide you over to bedtime.

You have been enjoying more time at home with mama now that we are not making the commute to Auburn. We are also finding our new normal routine as your big brother Elijah has started a local preschool. Usually you are ready for your first nap right after we drop your brother off - or you try and squeeze one in before we leave.

Levi in your 6th month you explored your first pumpkin patch and celebrated your first Halloween as as a Tiger! Your brother loved having you as a baby Tiger. You also brought lots of cheer to your Grandpa Jerry who was in the hospital.

While your 6th month of life was all about slowing down, we think your 7th month of life is going to be a busy one and we hope you're excited! You are going to fly on your first airplane to see Pop Pop and Grandma, go to Disney World to meet Mickey, celebrate your first Thanksgiving, visit Santa and start trying solid food.

Here are a few photos from your 6th month of life!

 At the pumpkin patch!

 Tiger Family!

 Bundled up for a Fall walk

 Play date with Lulu

{Levi - Dedication}

Levi Daniel, we dedicated you to the Lord!

It felt like a leap of faith for mama and papa to hope for one more child.Yet we had this feeling that more was meant for our family. You are an answer to that prayer and we love our brave sweet boy.

Today we dedicated you to the Lord. We believe we cannot make the decision for you to accept Jesus as Lord of your life. You will have the opportunity as you grow older to make that decision for yourself. We promise to raise you to know who God is, that God loves you and cares for you, and has known you since before you were born. We will pray for you. We will seek grace and wisdom to carry out these responsibilities. We promise to surround you with a community of people who love you and can help guide you.

During the church service today, Papa shared about our experience growing our family and Pastor Jeremiah prayed that God would watch over and guard you, use you in powerful ways, that you would follow God, and that you would be equipped according to God's will.


Our community joined us in making a commitment to raise you to know God. Then, we had a lovely party at the Allen's to celebrate. It was a very special day.

Here are some photos from your special day!

{Levi - 5 Months}

Levi Daniel, you are five months old!

You sailed through your fifth month of life! Your happy disposition is a joy to be around. Papa and I both say, our favorite thing to do is watch you watch you big brother. You love watching Elijah and you love all the silly noises that he makes. You are constantly smiling and laughing around him. Elijah, like wise loves to play with you on your play mat and enjoys showing you the books he is looking at.

Levi, you seem to have hit a growth spurt and are requiring more food! One day, you were incredibly grumpy which was out of the norm for you. It took mama a bit to figure out, but when I offered you some extra food – you gobbled it up. We started supplementing with formula and you have done well with that. You are getting a mix of mama breastfeeding you and supplementing with bottles. You finally started taking a bottle from mama which has been a big relief. Typically you get 2 bottles at some point in the day to keep you full. You outgrew your 6 month clothes and are solidly into 9 month clothes.

Just as you celebrated 5 months you started rolling from your tummy to your back. It is the cutest thing to watch as you cautiously make that roll. You’ve started babbling more at us which has been fun! You make “ba-ba” sounds and “da-da” sounds, which of course your papa claims that “dada” was your first word. You have also developed a strong grasp and my hair is often in your hands.  You continue to be very content laying down, holding your feet, and babbling. You also have started to notice Charlie more. When she comes around, your eyes are definitely on her.

Levi, your sleep continues to be all over the place. On a good night you only do one wake up in the 1am-3am hour. On a tough night you are up 2-3 times. It seems like if you get good sleep during the day you are more inclined to sleep well at night. But if you don’t sleep well during the day, anything can go at night. At least when you wake up at night you are a happy guy and smile as soon as you see me. Papa and I think we will do more focused sleep training at the end of November.

Your 5^th month has been busy. You had your second laser treatment for your birthmark. You are of course very unhappy during the treatment, but then shortly after you are all smiles again. You have done great as you transitioned into your daycare class. You do not sleep very well, but you enjoy all the sights and sounds. You also started up in your infant class at Community Bible Study. We are still trying to figure out a good routine for Thursdays at CBS so that you do not get over tired. You also recently went to your first pumpkin patch and your first Seahawks game!

During your 6^th month of life we think you are looking forward to being dedicated at church, a family trip to the Pumpkin patch, being at home more with mama as she resigns her job, and celebrating your first Halloween.


Here are some photos from your fifth month of life: